Hey everybody, Peter Zeihan here coming to you from Florida. The News Today we’re in a second week of April is that the Japanese have released from initial refit beard, what they call a heavy destroyer, the cargo it’s part of the Izumo class. This was designed to be a helicopter carrier, right? It’s really a small super carrier, if you will. And they’ve now completed the reset. So it can take American F 35, of which the Japanese are purchasing about 150, at least a third of which are supposed to be the carrier versions, and there’s definitely going to be more coming. This gives the Japanese full scale naval aviation for the first time since 1945. Keep in mind that the world’s first super carriers or carriers of any type actually are Japanese. And so this is a skill set that they’re in the process of rebuilding. They’re also doing so hand in glove with the naval superpower, which is the United States and obviously, they’re gonna be using a lot of American hardware in training to make this up to speed. So basically, this takes Japan and transforms it’s already the Bluewater Navy into blue water strike, maybe with significant over their horizon capabilities. The Japanese are doing this hand in glove with the Americans from a strategic point of view, and the vessels are already sailing together with the male American fleets. The cargo will be going through sea trials now for probably about a year, maybe a year and a half before beginning full deployment. And while that is happening, the other of the two zumo class carriers zumo will now be going through its refit. critics would say and I would agree with them that this was always the plan. For the Izumo class. They were only called helicopter destroyers for purposes of dealing with a population and a region that wasn’t quite comfortable with Japan taking a direct military rolled affairs but that has now turned the Koreans have gotten quiet everyone else in Asia realizes the Japanese being more forthwith is actually a good thing. But most importantly, the Japanese population has moved beyond its general feeling of pacifism. In the post world war two era realizing that as the Chinese become more apetite that affirm a military position is needed and that requires hardware to accentuate the policy.
Peter Zeihan
Geopolitical Strategist
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By Straight Arrow News
Following their defeat in World War II, the people of Japan pursued a largely pacifist foreign policy. Today, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and with near-daily news regarding China’s threatening activities throughout the greater Pacific, the Japanese are reinvesting in military defense and reaffirming their alliances with Pacific partners like Australia and the United States.
Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan looks at recent developments in Japanese naval capabilities and concludes that the Japanese navy is rapidly gearing up. Crucially, Zeihan observes, the Japanese people themselves are beginning to awaken from their post-war pacifism and are becoming more supportive of a higher defense budget and a wider military reach.
The following is an excerpt from Peter’s April 29 “Zeihan on Geopolitics” newsletter:
The Japanese navy is getting a face lift with the conversion of the Izumo-class destroyers into small supercarriers capable of holding F-35s (compliments of the U.S.).
This marks Japan’s return to full-scale naval aviation and is a reflection of the overall strategic shift in Japan’s military posture. With regional affairs growing more dicey by the day (ahem, China), Japan is straightening out its military posture and looking to play a more assertive role.
Hey everybody, Peter Zeihan here coming to you from Florida. The News Today we’re in a second week of April is that the Japanese have released from initial refit beard, what they call a heavy destroyer, the cargo it’s part of the Izumo class. This was designed to be a helicopter carrier, right? It’s really a small super carrier, if you will. And they’ve now completed the reset. So it can take American F 35, of which the Japanese are purchasing about 150, at least a third of which are supposed to be the carrier versions, and there’s definitely going to be more coming. This gives the Japanese full scale naval aviation for the first time since 1945. Keep in mind that the world’s first super carriers or carriers of any type actually are Japanese. And so this is a skill set that they’re in the process of rebuilding. They’re also doing so hand in glove with the naval superpower, which is the United States and obviously, they’re gonna be using a lot of American hardware in training to make this up to speed. So basically, this takes Japan and transforms it’s already the Bluewater Navy into blue water strike, maybe with significant over their horizon capabilities. The Japanese are doing this hand in glove with the Americans from a strategic point of view, and the vessels are already sailing together with the male American fleets. The cargo will be going through sea trials now for probably about a year, maybe a year and a half before beginning full deployment. And while that is happening, the other of the two zumo class carriers zumo will now be going through its refit. critics would say and I would agree with them that this was always the plan. For the Izumo class. They were only called helicopter destroyers for purposes of dealing with a population and a region that wasn’t quite comfortable with Japan taking a direct military rolled affairs but that has now turned the Koreans have gotten quiet everyone else in Asia realizes the Japanese being more forthwith is actually a good thing. But most importantly, the Japanese population has moved beyond its general feeling of pacifism. In the post world war two era realizing that as the Chinese become more apetite that affirm a military position is needed and that requires hardware to accentuate the policy.
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